GodWars
by KColl2003
Summary: What happens when the gods of the Marvel verse are driven insane?  A sequel to A Most Marvellous Adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Any of the characters you recognise are either owned by Mutant Enemy or Marvel Comics.

**FIC: GodWars (1/?)**

Phoenix,Arizona

The door exploded inwards, Faith, clad in her state-of-the-art combat suit, bursting through it like the proverbial human dynamo. She was barely three steps in when a vampire lunged out of the darkness. Faith glided inside its right cross, grabbed its wrist, and yanked its arm down onto her upswinging knee. The vampire's scream was drowned out in the exploding crack of its elbow, but its pain was short-lived as Faith slammed a stake into its chest.

"Team Alpha has front access," Faith reported into her mouthpiece.

"Team Beta has rear access," Xander reported in a whisper.

"Team Delta has roof access," their third-in-command coolly reported.

"'Kay," Faith continued, voice tight with excitement. This was their first mission since the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D's supernatural arm. Everything depended on the result of this mission. If their mission went well, then they would be cleared for nationwide operations against vampire nests, werewolf packs, witch covens, and other minor supernatural threats. "You know the drill," Faith muttered, "keep together, keep tight, and kill every vamp you come across." Faith glanced at the two men who'd followed her through into the hallway. "You two watch each other's backs, and stay close to me, be ready."

Faith leaned back at the waist when a vampire lunged out of the doorway to her right, leading with a straight right. Faith snatched a hold of the demon's arm at the wrist and the bicep, twisted at her waist, and flung the demon face-first into the left wall, then caught the demon with a kick to the gut as it spun to face her. The demon grunted as it doubled up, Faith slamming her stake down through the blood-sucker's back and into her heart.

Faith shone a torch into the darkened room the vampire had raced out of, then nodded when she found it empty. "'Kay," she stepped out and turned towards the door at the corridor's end, "what's behind door numb-." Faith's eyes widened as the door in question crashed open and a pair of snarling vampires charged out. Faith leaned left and right, shooting out a side-thrust kick that crashed into the side of the right vampire's jaw, knocking him into the wall, while delivering an elbow to the face of the left demon's jaw, flinging him into the opposite wall.

The two demons let out simultaneous roars then leapt at her. Faith caught the right one with a stamp to the ankle, snapping bone. Even as the demon fell, Faith was spinning to face the other, blocking its wildly-swung haymakers on her forearms, then ducking under an overhand right before leaping in and driving a stake deep into the demon's chest. Faith spun around in time to sidestep the other demon's stumbling charge and drive an elbow into the side of its neck, knocking it facefirst into the wall, then catching it with a spine-shattering stomp to the lower back. The demon folded like a cheap deckchair, collapsing to the ground, easy target for a stake to the back.

Faith glanced over her shoulder to the open-mouthed agents behind her. "Are we havin' fun yet?" Faith winked then sobered. "You two throw a pair of those Stark invented ultra-violet grenades into the back room."

The two agents under-arm threw a pair of globe-shaped grenades through the open doorway, white light briefly blossomed and then Faith was racing through the doorway to find a pile of ash to the entrance's left and a dropped mini-uzi. Well-thumbed porno magazines were strewn on the glass coffee table together with several empty beer bottles while the drawn curtains at the far end of the room prevented any light from breaking in. "Sweet," Faith muttered approvingly as she glided behind the over-turned sofa to find another dustpile and another discarded mini-uzi, "score two for Stark Industries."

Faith turned towards the others. "'Kay, now we backtrace our steps, make sure there ain't no hidden passages or basements." Faith stalked after her agents as her men backed out of the dreary room.

* * *

><p>"Today went well don't you think?"<p>

Faith grinned at X's query as she leaned back against the seat of the four seater private jet carrying them to their next appointment. That was her boy all over, always gettin' the job done but always needin' that little bit of reassurance that made him just as cute of a button. Faith loved his toughness and competence, but adored that he wasn't like the wannabe bad boys of her youth, swaggering asshats one an' all. "Went well enough for Fury to approve us going on-line."

"Yeah," Xander grinned back at her. "Six offices across the country. We're goin' nationwide, baby!"

Faith allowed herself a low laugh. The last eight months had been hectic as hell. They'd been given a mountain of paperwork to go through and office work to select where their offices should be located based on the most supernatural incidences, who they should employ from the thousands of law enforcement and military applications, deciding what equipment they needed, and designing training routines for their new recruits.

But in addition to their sedentary office work, they'd been put through a hell of physical ordeal as well. Training in spycraft from the Black Widow, unarmed martial arts from Iron Fist, archery lessons from Hawkeye, and Elektra teaching them how to use martial arts weaponry, man that chick could wield a mean blade and no mistake.

The physical stuff was of course more difficult for Harris, but she was playin' major catch-up when it came to learnin' just who everyone was in this crazy world, who had what powers, whose identity was secret, and so on, so hell of a learning curve. It was lucky they had each to rely on. Still, Faith grinned inwardly, there was no question now, she was the most lethal Slayer ever, and Xan was in the best shape of his life too.

Which was good considerin' their frenetic sex life. "Hey Harris," Faith rose with a slink in her hips and winked at her boy-friend. "Never figured we'd get a chance at joinin' the mile-high club, you interested?"

Xander gave her his trademark 'damn I can't believe this is happenin' to me' goofy grin. "Oh yeah."

* * *

><p>Camp Hammond<p>

"So you're the two that Stark sent this week." Henry Peter Gyrich barely managed to contain the sniff he felt. Guest lecturers were all very well as a concept when you were getting the likes of USAgent or Brother Voodoo, but these two nonentities? What a waste of time. The one-eyed man appeared to be a west coast junior version of Nick Fury, complete with the missing eye, while the babe looked like a centrefold playing at superhero.

Of course, given the Ms. Marvels and Spider-Womans of this world, centrefold looks certainly weren't the be all and end all of everything. Still, Gyrich stared stone-faced at the duo. According to their own words, compiled from their extensive and lengthy debriefings when they first reached this dimension, they were less than impressive. Harris had been the hanger-on to someone who would have been considered a minor-level super hero in this dimension, worse Lehane had been a reformed minor super villain.

So a sidekick and a former criminal of malleable morality. Stark sure knew how to pick them. "Having looked at your files, it's been a struggle, but I've found classes suitable for you to teach. Ms. Lehane, I want you to teach Unarmed Combat – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday13:30 – 16:00. Mr. Harris, you're lecturing on the supernatural, every day from10:00 – 12:00. You have a weekend to ready your lesson plans and when comporting yourselves around the camp, do try to bear in mindCampHammond's morality code." Gyrich rose. "Gauntlet will give you the guided tour. Goodbye."

* * *

><p>"Try and bear in mind Camp Hammond's morality code!" Faith hissed the moment the door closed behind them, leaving them in the chilly corridor waiting for their guide. "Does this dickhead think he's running a nunnery or somethin'?"<p>

"Faith," Xander's hand dropped onto her shoulder, "it doesn't matter what someone like him thinks, all that matters is what you think of yourself, and what your friends think."

Faith grinned up at the one-eyed man. "My friend thinks I'm pretty fly, right?"

Xander opened his mouth to reply. "So you've met Gyrich?" A thick-set, shaven-headed black man with a huge, gleaming gauntlet encompassing the entirety of his right forearm strode up to them. "He's a great political operator and administrator, but has all the people skills of a starved piranha." Gauntlet paused to look at them both. "Fury says you're okay, and anyone the General says is okay is okay by me. Come on, let me give you the 10 cent tour."

* * *

><p>The Negative Zone<p>

Jagged lightning flashed across the bleak sky, briefly illuminating the grim surroundings. Craters and cracks erupted without warning across the pock-marked landscape, grey ash belching out of the suddenly appearing and rapidly re-sealing fissures, whipped up into brief typhoons by the constantly howling winds that were apt to change direction on a second's notice.

Annihilus let out an excited hiss as he saw a gigantic, muscle-bound figure with a grey lionlike mane striding purposefully over the perilous terrain. "Blastaar!" his mandibles clicked together in a rapid rhythm. "You have it?"

His fellow Negative Zone warlord threw his head back and let out a victorious roar. "I do!"

Annihilus let out an ecstatic, birdlike caw. "Show me." Blastaar had a gleaming grin stretched across his moon-like face as he reached into his robe and pulled out a rectangle steel box with multi-coloured lightning bolts on its top. "Excellent," Annihilus shivered in anticipation. "Tell me the story again."

"A few million years after the birth of the other universe it was as now populated by many divergent races, but two civilisations were far more advanced than any of the others, with great galaxy spanning empires. Then one of the two most advanced races began waging war on the other races, obliterating system after system. Ahhh," Blastaar's thick whiskers fluttered as he let out a rumbling laugh, "it must have been a most glorious sight. But then, the second race rose up to stop them and for the first time, the first race was balked. The war continued for centuries, devastating systems and wiping countless civilisations from history's annals. And then," the Baluurian glanced at the box in his hands, "the first race designed a biological weapon supposed to drive the second race insane."

Annihilus nodded. He already knew this story, Blastaar having first brought it to him as a precious rumour almost a year ago, but it was such a deliciously destructive story he could never tire of hearing it. "The weapon worked, but not in the way the first race expected. Instead of robbing them of their reason it fundamentally changed their nature, turning them from a defensive-minded race to blood-thirsty, power-crazed conquerors. Such was the change, the first race were soon on the retreat. Where before the second race's morality held them back in certain regards, now they were utterly remorseless, slaughtering all who resisted or who even just got in the way." Blastaar let out a rumbling laugh, barrel chest shaking. "In less than a decade the war had gone from bloody deadlock to the first race being on the verge of extinction. In desperation, they closed the device but it was too late, the first race were still wiped out by the second in just a few more years, the second whipped into a fury by their previous actions that almost matched their brain-washed rage. Then when the war was finally over, the weapon was taken and hidden-."

"Why not destroyed?" Annihilus demanded in a hiss.

Blastaar shrugged his wide shoulders. "I'm not sure, but given certain tests my scientists and mages have run on the container, I believe it would be difficult for anything of the power less than a Galactus, or Celestial to destroy it."

"And you've confirmed who the second race's descendents are?"

Blastaar's smirk widened. "They eventually made their way to earth," Annihilus' mood dipped at the mention of the hated obstacle and thwarter in so many of his schemes, "where millions of years later their descendents became worshipped as the world's pantheons, the Asgardians, the Olympians, the Heliopians, and many others."

Annihilus smiled to himself as a myriad of possibilities raced through his scheming mind. As regards technological advancement, the Earthlings were minor players in the other galaxy, the Kree, Skrulls, and Shi'ar were far more advanced than the Earthers as were other civilisations. And yet, paradoxically, it was the Earthers with their multitude of metas that usually prevented his schemes of expansion. The likes of Thanos also had cause to curse the Earthers. They were an influence on the cosmic scene far beyond their size.

But if he opened the weapon and turned those who called themselves gods insane, Earth would soon become a threat that the other empires wouldn't be able to ignore, drawing them into a costly war which would weaken all powers, making them all easy targets for his forces to invade and conquer.

Only one thing still worried him. Annihilus let out a hiss. "Can we be sure that the box will still work on the Earthers?"

Blastaar shrugged. "There is only one way to find out"

Annihilus nodded. "Of course, open the box and ready our forces. I want m-, our armies ready to invade in a day's notice!"


	2. Chapter 2

**FIC: Godwars (2/?)**

The Richards Building

"That's worrying," Richards muttered as he peered through his lens magnifier and watched as a very new and unknown energy wave pulsed its unerring way from the Negative Zone and to Earth. Richards stepped back from the lens, his lips pursed and brow furrowed in thought. According to the energy readings from his computer the wave was unidentifiable but if experience had taught him anything it was nothing good or benign came from the Negative Zone. "This bears further investigation."

And besides, he smiled ruefully, to the world he might be the swash-buckling explorer Mr. Fantastic but the scientist within him loved a good mystery.

* * *

><p>Stark Tower<p>

"Hey Stark, we need to talk."

Stark bit down a surge of irritation when Fury strutted into his office like he owned it. "You can put the stogie out General," he grunted. "Remember I'm a man with a heart condition."

"Sure," Fury smirked insolently as he dropped into a chair, stubbed the cigar out on Stark's several thousand dollar desk then threw the stump in the bin.

Stark bit his lip at Fury's typically abrasive behaviour. "What do you want, General?"

"Yeah," Fury's expression grew sombre. "I trust you gotta the report of Harris and Lehane's initial operation?"

"Read it," Stark nodded. "Everything seems to be going smoothly."

"It's been a steep incline for the pair of them, Lehane is a natural at the physical stuff, but Harris is a lot better at teamwork and administration," Fury grunted.

Stark nodded. This was very much a pet project of his. He'd long thought that there was a substantial gap between the Defenders who took on very much planetary or even cosmic supernatural threats and the not quite everyday threat of demons, vampires, and werewolves that were still more than enough to slaughter a family. With luck and Faith and Xander's expertise in matters supernatural, their unit could in time bridge at least some of the gap. "Where have they set up their teams?"

"We're starting them off with six offices in our six largest cities -New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, and Philadelphia." Fury replied. "It also spaces them throughout the country. If these offices are successful, we're looking to expand in New Orleans and Miami."

"And where are they recruiting their team members from?" queried Stark.

"SHIELD volunteers, army and law enforcement volunteers, even a few independent demon hunters," Fury replied. "Each office has four teams of ten operatives. They don't patrol as such, rather they gather intel on a target, and then proactively eliminate it."

"Any interest from any other nations into expanding this operation internationally?" Stark asked.

"The Canadian, German, French, and Japanese SHIELD offices have all asked to be kept informed of the pilot scheme's progress," Fury replied.

Stark nodded. "And you've settled on their objectives?"

"They've settled on them themselves, Harris has boiled it down to one," Fury replied. "'The protection of innocent life from supernatural threats via the hunting down of said threats'."

"Little vague but sounds good," Stark commented. "But they're settling in well?"

Fury smirked. "The Slayer bitches about office work, but yeah they're doin' okay."

Stark nodded. "Then we'll have to hope they get more time to acclimatise to running things before we get our next big crisis."

"Yeah," Fury's smirk widened, "'cause this world is always so peaceable."

* * *

><p>Stars gleamed in the night sky, the various figures dressed in various types of ethnic garb all stood on white clouds as they huddled in groups and discussed strategy. All gazes turned to face the group's late-comer, a towering figure with a golden beard and wearing a Roman toga. "Zeus!" Odin growled, his solitary eye gleaming aggressively. "You're late!"<p>

"Are we not immortal?" Zeus' chuckle rumbled around the Council of Sky-Fathers. "What does time truly mean to those such as I?"

"And time we waste is time these impudent mortals have free," Osiris rasped. "An impudence we should not stand any longer than we have to."

"Yes," Odin agreed in a growl. "It is time to remind the mortals just who their masters are."

"Fine words and goals," Gitche Manitou commented. "But has anyone considered just how we will achieve these objectives?" The Native American god smirked. "It has been centuries since many of these mortals have bowed their knee to us, many will be reluctant to do it without being forced."

"Yes," Svarog nodded, "We have followers amongst the world's population and those who derive certain abilities from us will be compelled to follow our lead, but some of the world's other meta-humans will offer formidable resistance – not the least the likes of the Sorcerer Supreme or indeed the Hulk, they will be difficult to bend to our will."

"Aye," Zeus nodded. "Our first task will be to gather those metas who are loyal to us, to us. Forcing the others to obey us will be complex, but once they're defeated it would be a shame to have to kill them when they are such an useful resource."

"What do you suggest?" Manitou demanded.

Zeus smirked. "A while ago the Hulk was marooned on a planet called Sakaar. Its ruler managed to create an obedience disc that not only managed to control the Hulk for a while, but also the Silver Surfer and a number of mid-range metas. My fellow Olympian, Hephaestus has modified and strengthened the design into a 'Will-Collar' that he has begun building. The most powerful of metas will be unable to resist."

Odin nodded. "Then first this world and then the universe."

* * *

><p>"Where should we patrol tonight?" Skyhawk queried.<p>

"Perhaps theBronx?" suggested Earth Lord as he completed changing into his outfit.

Wind Warrior opened her mouth to comment then stopped, her mouth drying in awe as she joined her fellow Earth Force members in dropping to their knees and bowing their heads. "Long have you served me," Osiris strode into the room like he owned it, his gaze all-knowing and confident. "And done me honour with your service. But now, a far greater service beckons."

"Yes," Earth Lord was the first to manage overcome their wonder for long enough to speak. "How might we serve?"

Osiris' smile gleamed brighter than the stars. "You are to be lauded for your eagerness, this is what I need you to do…"

* * *

><p>"Three Sevens." Puma shook his head.<p>

"Two Queens." Red Wolf scowled as he dropped the cards onto the table.

American Eagle allowed himself the luxury of a smirk as he prolonged his friends' agony by taking a swig of his Budweiser before answering. "Three fives and two Jacks." American Eagle reached across the table and pulled the pile of crumpled notes across the table and towards him.

"The time for fun and games is over, a most glorious and trying time awaits the worshippers of the true gods!"

The table tipped over, money, cards, and drinks spilling to the ground as all three Native-American super-heroes spun to face a towering, tanned figure with a face like creased leather clad in calfskin trousers and full ceremonial head-dress. Awe replaced wariness, the three heroes hitting their knees before Manitou.

American Eagle looked up at the Native American Skyfather. "We listen, we obey."

* * *

><p>Venus beamed as she stood naked before her quarters' full-length gold-framed mirror, silken mane resting on her bare shoulders. The years passed, but her beauty remained undiminished.<p>

"Still playing at being the goddess of love are you?"

Venus spun around, curved lips dropping open as she crossed her arms over her bare chest, heart thumping at the sight of the one woman in the entire world who could make her feel dowdy. "A…Aphrodite."

The Greek Goddess of Love smirked evilly. "I trust you're ready to start showing your goddess their proper respect?"

* * *

><p>Marc stiffened as he awoke, his supernaturally enhanced senses warning him to some as yet unidentified danger. His hand reached out to tousle the hair of the woman laid alongside him. "Everything will be fine, Marlene," he soothed as he eased the sheets aside and rose, stalking out of his darkened room and into his mansion's outer corridor.<p>

Marc strode through the darkness, wondering what had woken him. A grin tugged at his lips as he considered the possibility of a burglar unfortunate enough to break into his house. His smile withered as a more worrying possibility occurred to him. If it was one of his enemies he'd better get his costume on and properly prepared.

"You have no need of weapons, Moon Knight."

Marc gasped, his legs buckling with his patron appeared in front of him, not in a vision but in actual live and living colour. "Khonshu!" he managed a croak.

The god peered down at him. "Get up Moon Knight, I have use for you."

* * *

><p>Russia<p>

Perun's tree-trunk like arms writhed mightily as he ripped stones weighing several tons out of the ground and laid them in a dam protecting several small towns and villages that laid in a river's raging path.

"It is not fitting for my son to use his powers in the service of mortals," a mighty voice thundered.

Perun spun to face a towering man with a snowy white handlebar moustache. "Svarog!"

The Dievas Sky-Father nodded brusquely. "Ready yourself son, we go to war soon."

* * *

><p>Light danced on the end of every candle positioned on the seven points of the pentagram painstakingly etched on the carpet. Strange sat cross-legged in the middle of the pentagram, eyes closed as his mind searched through the universe for the source of the disturbing energy he'd sensed over the last couple of days. First he tried those on earth who might be behind some new energy, perhaps to fuel some scheme or other, perhaps to use as a weapon, but none of the prime suspects - Doom, the High Evolutionary, Loki, or Kang the Conqueror appeared to be planning anything. Next he moved on to inspect the major space-faring empires – the Kree, Skrull, and Shi'ar, but while predictably all three vast civilisations were jockeying furiously for supremacy, he could find no trace of the energy.<p>

Strange let out a ragged sigh, sweat pouring off his shaking, aching body. He briefly considered checking up on Thanos, but if the mad Titan wasn't actually planning anything, risking angering him was unnecessary, like a bee stinging a lion's ear. Worse, if he tried to spy on the Watchers or Celestials he could end up utterly lost, driven insane by the vastness of their consciousness. Instead he moved his attention to the minor empires – the crafty, calculating Dire Wraiths, the militaristic Spartoi, the reptilian Badoon, the predatory parasitic Brood, and the technocratic colonisers of Rigel. All had their nasty little schemes intended to expand their empires or one-up their civilisation, but none of them involved the sensed energy.

And yet, there was something coming, he was sure of it.

* * *

><p>Lightning flashed through the sky, ripping through a tank, Thor landing on the charred remains and staring imperiously down at the surviving crew.<p>

Black Panther drop-kicked Storm through a window, glass exploding.

Doom blasted Hercules in his v-shaped back, knocking the Greek demi-god onto his knees, several recognisable super-heroes cheering the despot's sneak attack as smoke whafted off the heroic muscle-man's lats.

"What the!" Faith sat bolt upright, sweat pouring down her, chest heaving up and down as she gulped in air. Faith looked down at the man slumbering beside her then shook her head, an uneasy laugh escaping her. "Weird dream."

No way Thor was gonna go around destroying tanks and no way members of the Fantastic Four were gonna cheer Doom over Herc. Yeah, no way.


	3. Chapter 3

**FIC: God Wars (3/?)**

The Edge Of Badoon Space

Moondragon stiffened at the control of the Cosmic Avengers ship, something very wrong but indefinable brushing against her mind. She looked up to voice her concern, then felt Beta Ray Bill's spade-sized palm wrap itself around the back of her head and drive her face first into the control panel.

* * *

><p>Beta Ray Bill released the limp woman and turned to his stunned team-mates. Thundra was first to react, the super-powered female leaping at him, her movements a blur.<p>

Beta Ray's fist swung up, crashing into her face, and reversing her flight, sending her crashing into the bulkhead. Likewise Noh-Varr was met with a blast from Stormbreaker that sent him crashing to the ground, smoke wafting off the Kree's crumpled, quivering body. Beta Ray smiled as he strode back to the spaceship's controls, set a course to crash into the nearest moon, then strode to the exit, tore the door off, and stepped into space.

Time to return to Earth. Time to aid Thor and his brethren in conquering first the planet and then the galaxy.

* * *

><p>Camp Hammond<p>

Fury dropped his unlit stoogie in his desk's ashtray at the knock on his door. "Come in," he growled then nodded as the door swung open and Xander and Faith sauntered in, "sit down the two of you."

It wasn't often that Fury brooded about the loss of his eye, he wasn't the sort who dwelled on self-pity and besides his life was too full to lend itself much to periods of quiet brooding. But when there was a dame with the curves of Faith Lehane, a real eyeful, he regretted not getting his two full lens' worth.

That wasn't to say he was jealous of Harris. Youth might be wasted on the young but gettin' involved with a wild-cat like Lehane was likely to leave a man with more than a few flesh wounds and maybe worse. No, he was more than happy to keep his dealings with her on a strictly managerial basis.

That's what came with being a military genius.

Returning to matters of a more tactical bent, Fury nodded. "So how's the project comin'?"

The Slayer and her boy-friend exchanged glances. "Recruitment's a little behind where we'd like to be, I mean we've got enough recruits for each office but not enough to run as many patrols as we'd like, not safely at least," Xander reported.

"There's never enough bodies to do all the jobs you need," Fury opinioned. "It's been that way say since before Normandy, since man first walked on two legs instead of four, and maybe before when all's said and done. The best you can do is make sure no man's wasted, no man's duplicating another's efforts, or doing work another's better suited for."

"Speakin' of which," Faith drawled, "I'm built for a whole lotta things, but all these requisition forms, application forms. Damn," Faith shook her head, "I ain't built for paperwork."

"And I told you the last time you bitched 'bout this, get yourself a secretary, personal assistant, administrator, or whatever hell else politically correct term you wanna use," Fury fired back.

"Huh." The Slayer briefly illuminated his office with a dazzling, deep-dimpled smile. "Bet you've got plenty of help but I bet you still spend plenty of time parked on your keister?"

"It's an imperfect solution, but the best I've got." Fury chuckled before sobering and looking towards Harris. "How's the budget coming?"

Xander shot him a pained look. "Accounts read like Vorlon to me, but according to our money men we've enough money to run our six offices, but not enough to expand up to eight like I'd hoped."

"Another thing you've never got enough of is money, kid," Fury replied. "Just concentrate on getting the six offices you have working smoothly, then add two more the year after next, once we're all satisfied."

"Walk 'fore you can walk," Faith nodded. "Dude talks sense."

"Glad you agree," Fury smirked. "I believe you have a seminar at ten?"

"Yeah," Xander flushed. "Gahhh, lecture halls."

"He spent no time in them as a student, now he's supposed to be a teacher?" the beautiful Slayer smirked and shook her head. "Madness."

* * *

><p>Tarene tensed as their guest lecturer entered the room at the back of the stage, paused, then walked up to the podium. The one-eyed man had a nervous air about him, and yet the air of a warrior too, a man who had been through a battle's fires, a man who led by example. She was very interested in what he had to say.<p>

"Hi, everyone." The man paused to clear his throat then continue. "I'm Xander Harris, pleased to meet you all. I'm your lecturer this week and my area of expertise is apparently the supernatural. In my first lecture I'll be discussing what are the main supernatural species, their strengths and weaknesses, how to tell which one was responsible for a crime scene, and strategies to deal with each one." Xander grinned goofily. "Of course for some of you that'll involve pounding them until there's nothing left but a pool of blood and snot."

An amused murmur ran through the massed crowd but Tarene suddenly wasn't listening, something tugging at her consciousness. Rising, she strode towards the exit.

"Hey, Thor Girl!" Xander hurried to intercept, a bemused look on his face. "Sorry about that crack about the super-powered, but that's just me. I'm still sure you'll learn something from-." Tarene caught the man with a contemptuous backhand to the face that lifted him from his feet and flung him into the near wall, the one-eyed man sliding down the wall to lie in a crumpled, unconscious heap, blood trickling from his bottom lip and nose.

* * *

><p>Faith sauntered through the compound's empty corridors, savouring the silence. She turned a corner and grunted as she bumped into someone, a blond, blue-eyed kid who looked to be maybe ten years old. Mindful that even more than in her own verse, appearances could be deceptive, Faith warily eyed the 'kid'. "Hey, shouldn't you be in class?"<p>

The earth seemed to tilt around her when the pre-teen eyed her, his blue eyes somehow older than any she'd ever seen. "I am Phobos," the voice boomed in her ears, "fear me."

Images flashed before her eyes, terrible pictures plucked out of her sub-conscious, out of her memory. Before she knew it she was on her knees, shaking and wailing as tears poured down her cheeks, stomach hollowing and heart pounding two hundred beats a minute.

It was an eternity before the bone-gnawing terror finished and Faith managed to drag herself to her feet, the mysterious boy long gone.

* * *

><p>Avengers Mansion, NY<p>

Iron Man raised an eyebrow as the mansion's seamlessly oiled security system came on line, indicating an interloper. Glancing down, he relaxed when rather than the anticipated villain – The Presence, Loki, Doom, or someone else of their ilk, the sensors indicated it was a trio of Asgardians – Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and Thor Girl.

"We have guests?"

It was only years of long practice that prevented him from jumping when Vision strode through the wall to his left. "Yes." Stark nodded. "Thor's here."

"Strange, I am not aware of any problem requiring the Asgardians' assistance," Vision commented in his trademark emotionless tone.

"No," Stark agreed, nodding to Ms. Marvel as she walked in. "Everything seems quiet. Nothing on the news wires." Iron Man smiled as Thor walked in, Beta Ray Bill and Thor Girl flanking him. "Thor-." His greeting turned to action when the towering Asgardian's hammer swung up, his force-field barely coming up in time to protect him from the worst of his friend's energy blast.

Iron Man stumbled backwards, his energy reserves halved by his first attempt at defence and his senses reeling at this attack by a trusted ally. "Stark!" Thor's rumble shook the mansion. "I would have words with thee!"

"It won't be an one-sided conversation!" Iron Man promised as he flew at the Thunder God then banked left at the last moment, shooting energy at his rival.

The Thunder God was bathed in amber but seemed to barely notice his assault as he reached up, grabbed Stark by his ankle and threw him into, and through the office's wall. Iron Man groaned as he threw the rubble off himself and rose to meet his rival, his heart racing.

Defiant words aside, he was in little doubt that the God facing him would demolish him in an one on one fight. Heck, all the Avengers together would struggle to contain a rampaging Thunder God.

And yet choices he'd made years ago meant he had no option but to stand against Thor in the now. Iron Man flew into the air, energy pulsing from his palm, Thor let out an animalistic roar and leapt at him, the Asgardian's hammer swinging up in a backhand that would have taken his head off but for him ducking under. "Damn it Thor!" Stark grunted as his friend's fist crashed into his face, shattering his alloyed helmet and momentarily dazing him. "What happe-."

His query turned into a gurgle when Thor grabbed him by his throat and threw him into a three century old redwood in the mansion's grounds. "Systems failure, systems reboot in three seconds-."

Thor crashed to the ground beside him, the God's hammer swinging down to crash into his skull.

* * *

><p>She-Hulk looked up, a gasp on her lips as the mansion's doors exploded open, Hercules and Ares racing in, the Asgardian trio, Warriors Three, behind them. Her lips opened to demand just what the crisis was, but then Hercules was slamming a fist into her jaw, the blow's force flinging her into and through the hallway's stone wall.<p>

"Jen!" she heard Wonder Man cry out her name as if from a great distance and then the five Immortals were crashing through the wall, attacking her and her friends in their recreational room.

* * *

><p>Namor swam towards the invading figure then gasped as he recognised the figure as Poseidon. No wonder the sea serpents and kraken hadn't answered his call to aid in battling the invasion, choosing instead to answer the summons of the Greek god of the oceans.<p>

Namor's nostrils flared. No matter what, he was Namor, liege-lord of Atlantis and he bowed his knee to no being. Namor flung himself towards the Greek god, shooting through the water.

Then the Greek god ever so casually raised a hand, shooting out a concussive blast that thundered into Namor's chest. The air gusted from Namor's lungs as he cartwheeled backwards, crashing into a thick stone lying on the sea's bed.

Namor shook his head clear and launched himself back into the attack, diving beneath the Greek god's concussive blast to grab the Olympian around his portly midsection. Poseidon let out an indignant roar before thudding a right into the back of Namor's head.

Pain exploded in Namor's skull, bright lights blazing before his eyes. Namor shook it off, flinging the Olympian away from him, and then lunging after him, crashing a series of lefts and rights into the Immortal's face and torso, only for the blows to hit an invisible force field around the god.

Namor heard the Olympian let out an amused roar and then the god's spade-sized hands were around his throat. His muscles bulged vainly as he grabbed a hold of the god's wrists and tried and failed to drag them loose. His feet swung up, trying and failing to kick off the god's surrounding force-field. The last thing he saw before passing out was the Greek god's laughing face.


End file.
